FALL, 2015
PSYCHOLOGY 5110-001: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT I
Monday 11-11:50 A.M.—Room 428LS
Instructor: Dr. Gatchel
Office Hours: Fridays, 9-11 am
Location: 301Life Science
Office Telephone Number: 817-272-2541
Email: gatchel@uta.edu
Faculty Profile: https://www.uta.edu/profiles/robert-gatchel
General Description: There are two primary goals of this course. The first is to provide new graduate students
with a broad orientation of the facilities, responsibilities and assistance available to them as they launch their
professional careers as psychologists. Important issues, such as academic integrity, ethics, and cultural
diversity, will be discussed. Also, assistance, in terms of graduate advising and how to use the human subjects’
research pool, will be reviewed.
Specific Requirements and Objectives: The class will meet once a week on Mondays from 11-11:50 in Room
428LS. After completing this Course, graduate students will be familiar with the “culture” of graduate
education in the Department of Psychology at UT Arlington. The Course will help students in their transition
from undergraduates to their new roles and professional responsibilities as members of the Department and
Institution. Issues/questions they might have at the present time, or in the future, will be addressed. This
Course will prepare them for their future activities as graduate students, classroom instructors and researchers.
There will be one Final Essay Examination, which will consist of addressing various issues/topics reviewed
during the course of the semester.
Attendance: At The University of Texas at Arlington, taking attendance is not required. Rather, each faculty
member is free to develop his or her own methods of evaluating students’ academic performance, which
includes establishing course-specific policies on attendance. As the Instructor of this section, I do not plan to
take attendance during lectures, but regular attendance is expected and will be extremely beneficial in order to
do well in this course.
COURSE OUTLINE
MONDAY
August 31
General Expectations and Overview of Graduate
Training
Labor Day – NO CLASS
Graduate Student Advising
Dr. Gatchel
Peace Williamson
September 28
October 5
Library Resources (information about how to
develop a professional resume will also be
presented)
The Undergraduate Program and Advising Issues
Human Resources Service
October 12
Institutional Review Board Policies
Alyson Stearns
Mary Colette
Lybrand
September 7
September 14
September 21
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Sarah Watson
Megan Juel
Eunice Currie
November 9
Human Subject Pool Issues
Professional Responsibilities/Ethics
Important Issues, Requirements, and Restrictions
for doing Animal Research in the Department
GAPS: What is it?
November 16
Research in the Department: An Overview
November 23
November 30
December 7
Professional Opportunities & Future Expectations
Course Review
Last Day of Class
October 19
October 26
November 2
Dr. Jensen-Campbell
Dr. Gatchel
Julia Kissling
Vivian Ta
Belinda Williams
Drs. Gagne, Gatchel,
Kenworthy & Lopez
Dr. Gatchel
Dr. Gatchel
Final Exam
Drop Policy: Students may drop or swap (adding and dropping a class concurrently) classes through selfservice in MyMav from the beginning of the registration period through the late registration period. After the
late registration period, students must see their academic advisor to drop a class or withdraw. Undeclared
students must see an advisor in the University Advising Center. Drops can continue through a point two-thirds
of the way through the term or session. It is the student's responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not plan
to attend after registering. Students will not be automatically dropped for non-attendance. Repayment of
certain types of financial aid administered through the University may be required as the result of dropping
classes or withdrawing. For more information, contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
(http://wweb.uta.edu/aao/fao/).
For this semester, the drop date is 4:00 PM (CST) on Wednesday, November 4th. Students who drop a course on
or before the Last Drop Date will receive an automatic grade of “W” on their student record by MyMav.
Disability Accomodations: UT Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of all
federal equal opportunity legislation, including The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Americans
with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. All instructors at UT
Arlington are required by law to provide “reasonable accommodations” to students with disabilities, so as not to
discriminate on the basis of disability. Students are responsible for providing the instructor with official
notification in the form of a letter certified by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). Students
experiencing a range of conditions (Physical, Learning, Chronic Health, Mental Health, and Sensory) that may
cause diminished academic performance or other barriers to learning may seek services and/or accommodations
by contacting:
The Office for Students with Disabilities, (OSD) www.uta.edu/disability or calling 817-272-3364.
Counseling and Psychological Services, (CAPS) www.uta.edu/caps/ or calling 817-272-3671.
Only those students who have officially documented a need for an accommodation will have their request
honored. Information regarding diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining disability-based academic
accommodations can be found at www.uta.edu/disability or by calling the Office for Students with Disabilities
at (817) 272-3364.
Title IX: The University of Texas at Arlington does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, genetic information, and/or veteran status in its
educational programs or activities it operates. For more information, visit uta.edu/eos. For information
regarding Title IX, visit www.uta.edu/titleIX.
Academic Integrity: Students enrolled all UT Arlington courses are expected to adhere to the UT Arlington
Honor Code:
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I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT Arlington’s tradition of academic integrity, a tradition that values
hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.
I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group collaborations, and
I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will follow the highest standards of
integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.
UT Arlington faculty members may employ the Honor Code as they see fit in their courses, including (but not
limited to) having students acknowledge the honor code as part of an examination or requiring students to
incorporate the honor code into any work submitted. Per UT System Regents’ Rule 50101, §2.2, suspected
violations of university’s standards for academic integrity (including the Honor Code) will be referred to the
Office of Student Conduct. Violators will be disciplined in accordance with University policy, which may result
in the student’s suspension or expulsion from the University.
Electronic Communication: UT Arlington has adopted MavMail as its official means to communicate with
students about important deadlines and events, as well as to transact university-related business regarding
financial aid, tuition, grades, graduation, etc. All students are assigned a MavMail account and are responsible
for checking the inbox regularly. There is no additional charge to students for using this account, which remains
active even after graduation. Information about activating and using MavMail is available at
http://www.uta.edu/oit/cs/email/mavmail.php.
Student Feedback Survey: At the end of each term, students enrolled in classes categorized as “lecture,”
“seminar,” or “laboratory” shall be directed to complete an online Student Feedback Survey (SFS). Instructions
on how to access the SFS for this course will be sent directly to each student through MavMail approximately
10 days before the end of the term. Each student’s feedback enters the SFS database anonymously and is
aggregated with that of other students enrolled in the course. UT Arlington’s effort to solicit, gather, tabulate,
and publish student feedback is required by state law; students are strongly urged to participate. For more
information, visit http://www.uta.edu/sfs.
Final Review Week: A period of five class days prior to the first day of final examinations in the long sessions
shall be designated as Final Review Week. The purpose of this week is to allow students sufficient time to
prepare for final examinations. During this week, there shall be no scheduled activities such as required field
trips or performances; and no instructor shall assign any themes, research problems or exercises of similar scope
that have a completion date during or following this week unless specified in the class syllabus. During Final
Review Week, an instructor shall not give any examinations constituting 10% or more of the final grade, except
makeup tests and laboratory examinations. In addition, no instructor shall give any portion of the final
examination during Final Review Week. During this week, classes are held as scheduled. In addition,
instructors are not required to limit content to topics that have been previously covered; they may introduce new
concepts as appropriate.
Emergency Exit Procedures: Should we experience an emergency event that requires us to vacate the
building, students should exit the room and move toward the nearest exit, which is located at the front of the
room. When exiting the building during an emergency, one should never take an elevator but should use the
stairwells. Faculty members and instructional staff will assist students in selecting the safest route for
evacuation and will make arrangements to assist handicapped individuals.
Emergency Phone Numbers: In case of an on-campus emergency, call the UT Arlington Police Department at
817-272-3003 (non-campus phone), 2-3003 (campus phone). You may also dial 911.
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Student Support Services: The University supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect
with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education,
advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance
academically, personally or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for
more information and appropriate referrals.
Library Information:
Peace Williamson is the Psychology Librarian. She can be reached at 817.272.6208, and by email at
peace@uta.edu. You will find useful research information for psychology at
http://www.uta.edu/library/research/rt-psyc.html.
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